Tamar Technology of Newbury Park, Calif., has been awarded a Phase II grant from the National Science Foundation of Arlington, Va., to continue researching a technology for measuring the thickness of semiconductor wafers and the depth of deep and narrow etched trenches. The company will focus on the development and commercialization of an IR-based confocal sensor that will support rapid single-point thickness measurements of silicon wafers with a small measurement region. The sensor is expected to increase the speed of wafer inspection and to improve yield and process control by providing near-real-time process feedback.

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